


Rubicund - Wingfic Version

by cutsycat



Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1139]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, Tony DiNozzo & Jethro Gibbs Father-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 11:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16094645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutsycat/pseuds/cutsycat
Summary: This is an Alternate Origin story for Tony where he was born with wings due to his mother.





	Rubicund - Wingfic Version

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TT_Angst_Queen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TT_Angst_Queen/gifts).



> Another dictionary.com word of the day drabble. This time from 06/13/2002 for the word [rubicund](http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2002/06/13/rubicund).
> 
> rubicund  
> Inclining to redness; ruddy; red.
> 
> This was requested by TT40_Angst_Queen as part of my 2018 prompt challenge [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2018/profile). More instructions are below if you wish to sign up. This prompt had many options. I removed the ones that I wasn't filling with this story. 
> 
> **Prompt:**
> 
> 9\. Wingfic + Father/Son
> 
> **End Prompt**

# 

Rubicund - Wingfic Version

Tony did his best to hide his wings. Ever since he’d been born his wings had always been a source of disgust for his father. At first he’d thought that it was simply the fact that he had wings that his father didn’t like, but his father absolutely adored his mother and she had wings as well.

His mother’s wings were beautiful white glistening ones, however, where as his were somewhere between a light red and a dark red. His rubicund wings were always red, but changed tint depending on what he was feeling and various other environmental factors like dark vs light in a room. Tony didn’t really understand why his father hated his wings, but he did know that if his wings were tucked behind him and covered by his clothes, the upturned sneer wasn’t present whenever his father looked at him.

As time went on, Tony just got used to keeping his wings covered. He’d let them out once at boarding school and all the kids had immediately laughed at him for the color of his wings. They wanted to know if he was a fallen angel, if the red was a symbol of the blood that he’d shed. 

Tony hadn’t made the mistake of showing his wings at boarding school again. As he grew older and went off to college, he continued to hide his wings. He’d learned his lesson, but the first time he had sex, he hadn’t known to keep his wings contained even when he was naked.

He learned quickly when the girl he was with ran screaming from his room at the first sight of his wings. By that point in time he’d pretty much resigned himself to the fact that he would never find anyone who accepted him and his wings. Oh, he’d found a few people that were intrigued by the wings, but they were always more interested in the wings and putting him on display as a freak than in him. 

Even at the fraternity he joined, Tony didn’t dare to reveal his wings. His fraternity brothers dared him to a number of times, but he refused. His sex machine nickname actually came from one of his brothers who found out that he didn’t reveal his wings even during sex.

After that, the guy always referred to Tony as a sex machine since he just went through the motions of sex and didn’t put his whole self into it. Tony knew the guy intended the nickname as an insult to imply that Tony felt nothing, but Tony wouldn’t give him the satisfaction and set out to prove that he really was a sex machine and that he was so good he could bed every girl at the college. If Tony had his way, he would never again reveal his wings for the rest of his life.

Of course, with his chosen career of police officer and desire to do his best to protect his partner and civilians, things never seemed to work out quite the way he wanted them to. He started out his career as a traffic cop at Peoria. He didn’t mind being low rung on the totem pole.

He respected that he would have to work his way up to detective where he wanted to be. That wasn’t the problem. No, the problem came when he happened to be at the right place at the right time and had to unfold his wings and reveal them to save a girl from a fire.

Not only did the girl see them and run crying to her mommy as soon as they were safely away from the fire, but practically the whole city of Peoria did too. They were polite and thanked him for saving the girl, but rapidly asked him to leave stating that his wings scared the citizens. He also heard mutterings from various of the other cops that they didn’t want to catch his disease or curse or whatever made his wings look like that.

So Tony left. He bummed around looking for jobs in other cities before finally finding another police officer job in Philadelphia. Having been reminded again of just how much his wings were hated, Tony made sure to keep them well and truly hidden.

Or he did until he was forced to watch a child fall off the edge of a building with nothing to prevent him from smashing into the ground and dying from a broken neck or any other injury from falling that far. Tony wasn’t willing to let the child die just to keep his secret. This time the boy he rescued thought his wings were cool and couldn’t stop touching them.

Of course, his parents didn’t agree and quickly pulled the boy away from Tony thanking him for rescuing their child, but politely asking him to stay away. Tony sighed and wrapped his wings again before returning to the police station. Not that it helped.

Enough people had seen his wings that once again he was asked to leave, only not so politely this time. Fed up with this treatment Tony swore that he would never reveal his wings not even to save someone. That lasted about as long as his job in Baltimore. 

When NCIS Special Agent Gibbs came sniffing around there should have been no reason to reveal his wings. The agent was undercover for a money laundering scheme which while criminal was usually not the kind of thing that resulted in dead innocents. Of course, the chief of police and Tony's partner had to be in on it. 

The chief had decided that it would be easier to shut up the NCIS agent and get rid of him than to convince Gibbs to keep his mouth shut about who was behind it all. Tony had been flabbergasted when he ended up in the middle of a shoot out between the chief, his partner, Danny, and Gibbs. He’d promised to never reveal his wings again, but he couldn’t in good conscience let them kill a federal agent. 

Stretching his wings, Tony took flight and used his wings and body as a shield to protect Gibbs. He figured that would be the end of it; that he’d die from the bullet wounds. Instead, he woke in the hospital to Gibbs shaking his head and calling him an idiot.

“Don’t ever do anything like that again!” Gibbs glared at Tony. 

“Why am I still alive?”

“You damn near weren’t. It took me a while to figure out you were actually bleeding as your blood matched the color of your wings. Doctors had a hard time figuring out exactly where you were injured for the same reason.” Gibbs continued to stare Tony down.

“Why did you save me?”

“Couldn’t let you die after what you did for me.”

“Guess I’m out of a job, huh?”

“Nope. You’re going to work for me.”

“Huh? What? But everyone hates my wings.”

Gibbs shook his head. “That’s because people are stupid and automatically hate anything that’s different. Your wings are beautiful.”

Tony stared at Gibbs in shock. “No one has ever found my wings beautiful before. At least, not unless you’re talking beautiful in a freakish way.”

Gibbs growled at that. He couldn’t believe how stupid people were. Well he could, but he still hated it. “Surely your parents thought they were beautiful?”

“Nope.” Tony shook his head. “I’m pretty sure my dad hates them. Couldn’t say about my mom. She died when I was too young.”

Gibbs snarled and swore to make sure that no one else hurt Tony, who he was already beginning to think of as a son. Once Tony healed up, he was eager to please, except when it came to his wings. Gibbs demanded that Tony leave his wings out all the time, but Tony just couldn’t do it. 

He’d been hurt and forced to leave too many times to easily reveal his wings. Gibbs insisted that he picked who was on his team and that no one would force him out or make fun of him. It still took many years before Tony was comfortable enough to show anyone his wings on a regular basis and even then he only showed them to the man that was becoming like a father to him, Gibbs. 

Gibbs knew it was progress, but he still hoped that some day Tony would be proud enough of his wings to display them proudly at NCIS. Senior may not realize what a treasure Tony was, but Gibbs wasn’t about to make that mistake and so long as Tony kept his wings wide open no one else at NCIS would either. However, while Tony still kept his wings hidden anyone that only took Tony at face value would miss what Gibbs had realized the day that Tony saved him. 

Tony wasn’t a fallen angel. He was actually a phoenix. One that would burn as brightly as the sun if you encouraged him and helped him grow into his own like Gibbs had.

**Author's Note:**

> 4 more dictionary.com stories written.
> 
> My 2018 Prompt collection is open [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2018/profile). Just click the sign up link. ;) It will remain open until the beginning of 2019. I'm hoping to complete all the 2018 prompts by the end of 2019. Here's hoping muse cooperates.
> 
> If you are not an ao3 member, you can prompt me [here](http://cutsycat.livejournal.com/50701.html). Please follow the same rules as are listed in the above link. However, because this is a handmade prompt form(that thinks it's a poll), it is considerably more limited than what ao3 provides, so please use the ao3 form if you're an ao3 member. Please note the name option is for a name that I can say this is for so that you know it's for you. Since this is for non ao3 members it won't be true gifts, but you will be mentioned in the notes.
> 
> For any authors that want to chat and/or are looking for a place where they can toss plot ideas around and get input from people, you can come join my discord server that is specifically geared towards writing/encouraging people to write and authors. The invite link is [here](https://discord.gg/HFvwpCq). If you're not an author, but want to chat with me about writing/stories or anything else you are welcome to join. I reserve the right to boot you from my server if all you do is pester me about updates, however. *grin* Really anyone who wants to talk about writing and/or plot ideas for various stories is welcome to join. 
> 
> I've started a new [poll](https://cutsycat.livejournal.com/55450.html) regarding my series and which ones people most want to see continued in place of the Rapprochement series which I have brought to an end for now... 
> 
> Note: The Bishop Entanglement, Crazy Cat Tale, and Pregnant FBI Agent series will be continued no matter what, so you don't need to vote for those. For those who don't have livejournals just leave a comment with your responses. Thanks!
> 
> Also, I'm looking for some writing buddies. Full details are [here](https://cutsycat.livejournal.com/53610.html). It is friends locked, so you'll have to add me as a friend on lj before you can read it.
> 
> Also, Drakonyashka has translated a couple of my works into Russian. [Tutelage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378780) and [Imbue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378840). Go support them. 


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